Afraid? Who Me?

Fear. In the States, most people are afraid of public speaking, snakes, roaches and other household pests, and probably dying. (Ok, these are my hasty generalizations of things people are afraid of). I really wasn't a fearful person while living in the States. I think I had a pretty good grounding in trusting God with fears but really I think mostly it was just about having a secure life there. The neighborhood's we lived in where nice, we drove our own car, there aren't as many motorcycles whizzing by to be super concerned about and we were living in our OWN culture. Now that I am living in Thailand, I am learning more about this terrible spirit of fear that Satan loves to ooze on us. If you are a fearful person reading this, I can finally relate. What happened? Well, a dog bite happened. No worries, I am fine and in fact God wonderfully protected my foot with my leather sandal so that the dog's teeth actually went into the sandal instead of my foot. But now I have fear. Here in Thailand street dogs are a big problem. And on our soi (street) there are many! Thursday I was leaving for class on my bike and right out in front of our house a dog ran toward me and bit my foot/shoe. I froze. I was so scared. I couldn't believe this dog bit me, for one and for two there were three other dogs nearby, one also chasing me on my bike, so I just didn't know what to do. After the dog released my foot I began peddling again and the dog started chasing me again! This time I whipped out the billy club Paul had mounted on the bike (for such a time as this!) and was determined if this dog was going to come near me again it was going to get a beating. Thankfully, a neighbor began yelling at the dog and the dog turned around and went home.
This incident coupled with the collision last weekend on my way back from Krung Theep has really put some fear in my heart when it comes to traveling and just living here in Thailand. One of Satan's biggest tactics here in Thailand is that of fear (fear of spirits, ghosts, etc)...and if he can get the missionary to fear then what kind of witness are we to the Thais that we know and are trying to be a light unto? Our lives are truly in God's hands, no matter where we are living. I constantly am challenged to trust God not only with my life but with the lives of Paul and PJ also. So, I guess I am asking for continued prayer for our safety here but more than that, that we would trust God and not fear...because fear is not from God.